amnesiac
by lovelyrutabagas
Summary: When the Flash is presumed dead by the Justice League and their only witness happens to be a teenager with amnesia, things go from bad to worse.
1. prologue

If anyone asked Wally about how he felt having to hide his civilian self while simultaneously fighting as his hero self, he would have shaken them and demanded to know how they knew who he was.

Obviously no one asked him that and he went on his semi-merry way of beating up bad guys in the science museum while "protecting" his civilian persona. Actually, now that he thought about it, wasn't he technically protecting both of his identities at the moment?

Whatever. Wally sooo did not have the time for this. "This" being the current battle with his Rogues that he was starting to lose, surprisingly enough. With Mirror Master and Captain Cold combining their weapons, they were able to create a freeze ray capable of bouncing off _any_ reflective surface and increasing it's speed.

It was the most annoying freeze ray ever. And it was totally cutting into his project time with his chemistry group. Wally was still thinking about what he'd be doing for his part in the project when Cold's freeze ray gun stopped firing.

The heavily-clothed villain stared down at his gun, shocked and more than a bit angry. Cold rounded on his partner-in-crime and hurled expletives at him, going so far as to throw the gun into the mirror his partner was communicating through.

The glass froze, then shattered into a million glittering pieces. Cold was already running for the exit and Mirror Master was trying to pull Wally into one of the many reflective surfaces around him. There was a sudden beep from his JL communicator, indicating someone—probably Batman—wanted him to answer.

A little hard to do when the building you're fighting in decides to blow itself up.

Wally counted himself lucky that Mirror Master was pulling him through into his dimension to avoid the blast. He wasn't so lucky to avoid having his face become intimately familiar with a piece of marble the size of Superman's chest.

After that, well… Wally didn't remember much except Mirror Master dropping him off in some tree at the park and him changing back into his civilian clothes.

He started walking unsteadily to his place but between the sudden blurriness in his vision and his difficulty in remembering where his place even _was_ he decided to stop for a break.

The thin teen had difficulty in keeping his eyes open; it was dark out, he was leaning against a damn comfortable tree, why shouldn't he sleep?

So he did. Unaware that a few miles away, reporters were already gathering, regretfully informing their viewers that _"the Flash did not make it out of the explosion"_ and _"the Justice League is taking over the case from CCPD"._

...

AN- This is like a prologue I guess for something I want to continue writing? I've got a basic direction I want this to go in and idk it's just something I was thinking about when I was supposed to be working on my other stories.

Just so we're all on the same page

-Wally's the Flash and he's also 17 and in college because why the hell not

-JL doesn't know a lot about him because Wally was scared they wouldn't take him seriously if they knew how young he was

-Our boy here has amnesia now and also some other shit because he needs friends in his civilian life

-THERE WILL BE NO PAIRING FOR THIS FIC not from my end at least. If you guys wanna read more into relationships then go right ahead

And that's it I think! Please, after reading if you could leave a review on something I could've done better on or maybe an idea of where you think this is going? Anonymous or otherwise it'd be great to hear from you guys


	2. communicator

When Batman reached out to the Flash using their communicators, he wasn't all too surprised by Flash ignoring the call. Flash often forgot his JL communicator or simply didn't answer until a minute or two after the call. But from what the monitors showed, Flash was in the middle of a battle with two other villains and this assured Batman and his worries.

So he wasn't surprised when Flash didn't respond.

He leaped to his feet when the building exploded; was already calling the other JL Founder's and on his way to Central City. They responded immediately and would likely reach Central before him.

The trip to Central took ten minutes. Ten minutes wherein Flash could've been dead or dying and he and the others wouldn't know until it was _too late because he had to drive to Central City instead of having Superman grab him and fly them both over._ Batman had to calm down. Panicking would do nothing but make the situation worse.

Besides, Flash was the _Fastest Man Alive_ , so a little explosion should be nothing for him.

But he'd been fighting two villains right before the explosion. If he'd been injured, then he would have trouble with running, especially with two people still in the blast zone.

He was just overthinking things, like always.

Flash was fine. Probably already doing damage control with the media. Yes.

Flash was fine.

...

Martian Manhunter was off-planet on a mission with Supergirl and Hawkwoman. Aquaman was stuck in Atlantis, but had promised to arrive as quickly as he could when he found a moments rest.

Batman arrived after Wonder Woman, Superman, and Green Lantern. Normally, he would growl over how quickly they had all arrived, but this was not a normal night.

"Batman?" Superman was waiting for him to debrief them on what they were doing in Flash's city. He, and the others, were staring intently at him, and Batman felt a shift in his control; Bruce Wayne was making speech and other Batman-noises difficult around the unexpected lump in his throat.

Wordlessly, Bruce held up his wrist computer, which showed the locations of all other communicators and waited for understanding to dawn on them.

For once, Batman didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. And this was the worst news of them all.

To tell them that Flash was dead, that what was left of him was likely hidden beneath the smoking rubble of the Flash Museum?

He couldn't tell them that. He could barely tell himself the same thing.

They needed the Flash. Everyone knew what they'd become if he died; full of grief, one of them would propose a harsher sentence for their enemies, and then it would end with the world living in fear of the once-heroes. Batman held himself back, tried to stop from feeling anything about the situation other than clinical detachment.

Green Lantern was faster than the others. His head snapped up from where it had been looking over the device and his voice was wobbling, revealing his weakness beneath the mask. _"No."_ GL shook his head weakly and repeated himself, " _No_ , Batman, _please_ , tell me this is a joke. Flash can't be-!" He choked on the last word and began to crumble.

Bruce opened his mouth, Batman's voice ready with a command for GL to _keep it together_ when Wonder Woman intervened.

"Green Lantern, now is not the time. We must go and search the wreckage for survivors." Her voice was strong and revealed nothing of her inner pain. Steel blue eyes gazed at Batman's own and he nodded sharply.

The two leaguers left for the once-museum with the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel behind.

When Superman finally looked up from the communicator, Batman thought it fitting for him to appear furious on the outside while Batman simmered in rage on the inside.

"Who. Did. This." The words were spat out through gritted teeth and Superman would have been terrifying had Batman not faced off with the worst of the worst on a near daily basis.

Batman shook his head and began walking towards the ruined museum where Flash laid.

 _Flash is in there. All over the place most likely; he was too close to the bomb when it had gone off, and we'll be lucky if we can find enough to piece together his secret identity._

Those were morbid thoughts but no less true.

Upon arriving at the scene, all four founders began working to uncover their fifth member. It was grueling work and they had yet to find anything.

That was, until Wonder Woman lifted a piece of marble splattered with blood. Green Lantern flew over, already scrutinizing the blood and marble while Batman swabbed and tested the blood.

They waited in tense silence for the next two minutes, hidden by the smoke and avoiding reporters and other emergency personnel.

Upon the two minute mark, Green Lantern hovered over Batman's head and waited for him to reveal his findings. Wonder Woman and Superman waited tensely. Batman's shoulders slumped, just a bit, and they knew.

...

Wonder Woman crossed her arms tightly and struggled with the urge to cry out; to release all of her pent up rage and anguish.

Looking over at Superman, Diana saw his fists clench, his eyes beginning to glow red, and his mouth twisting into a hateful grimace. Batman was calm, collected, and detached.

Green Lantern was the worst. Out of all of them, GL was the closest to Flash and they had often hung out in the Watch Tower, playing stupid games and pranks with one another. It wasn't difficult to imagine what it was like for GL; she felt a stabbing pain in her heart and knew it was from Flash's death and wished for it to end.

She was a warrior for Hera's sake!

But it was painful for her to attempt to cast him out of her mind. Flash had been annoying and was likely the most foolish of the Founders, but he was family, almost.

Even though no one, not even Batman, knew his identity, Flash had claimed a small place in her heart; Diana knew it was the same for most everyone who met him. It was impossible to hate him.

He was the little brother Diana never realized she wanted.

And now he was gone.

...

ohmygod an update? from me? astonishing really.

i'd really like to thank everyone who reviewed and favorited/followed this story because ya'll are all amazing and beautiful and just thanks again.

ANYWAY so yeah this was just the league's solo chapter, i focused more on batman for this one because he's the first one i thought of being the most affected by flash "dying". cuz yeah wally and hal are close and all but they don't know each other under their masks but bruce views himself as flash's handler like keeping him in line, making sure he does everything right.

idk i just like to imagine bruce as having this fatherly exasperation for flash and later on wally because honestly thats cute as fuck


	3. arrest

Wally woke to a pounding headache and the urge to vomit.

He managed to keep his food down but his headache continued on, absolutely killing him. Not only that but Wally had no idea where he was.

He was in a park, obviously, but beyond that he was lost. Wally had been taught from a young age that if he ever became lost or got into trouble he should find someone in charge, like a police officer. Looking around his general area, Wally noticed that it was practically empty save for a few birds and some creepy old lady sitting on one of the park benches.

 _Where is everyone?_

His head throbbed painfully, and he felt like he was forgetting something important. If only his vision would stop fading around the edges like that, then he might be able to remember!

His watch started beeping and he groaned when he saw the time.

7:15. Class started at 8:15 but Wally was too far away and didn't have any of his things with him. He suddenly jerked back. _My bag! Where's my bag? Oh, man, all my notes are in there!_

Could Wally's day get any worse?

...

The answer was yes, of course, because, after Wally found his way home, as he got ready for the day his phone rang the entire time. When he finally answered it, he received the shock of a lifetime.

The Flash, _Fastest Man Alive_ , resident hero of Central City, and all-around good guy, was dead.

Apparently there was a fight between Flash and a villain that ended with Flash being blown to bits. Minus the bits, though. The Justice League took over the investigation but a few reporters heard that the only thing left over from the bomb was a bit of Flash's blood.

Wally felt sick as he continued his trek to school. It had been Dani who told him, a science buddy of Wally's, and also a fan of the Flash. She'd been upset at the news and so was Wally. The Flash was the best superhero around! Cooler than Superman— _except Superman can fly and shoot lasers outta his eyes—_ and Batman— _but Batman's got all those cool sidekicks and all his gadgets—_ cooler than Wonder— _are you kidding me?—_ ok, maybe not Wonder Woman but still! Flash was a cool guy, why would anybody kill him?

His head still throbbed and his stomach felt like it was eating itself. Wally didn't know why; he'd eaten a huge breakfast that morning.

Every step towards his classes made him sick. This was a mistake. He should've stayed home, emailed his professors, and recuperated while trying to figure out why the _hell_ he woke up in the park instead of at home.

Too late to turn back now. Wally was at the edge of campus grounds when he heard all the commotion. There were cheers and some boos and a lot of noise. Wally knew that combo like he knew the back of his hand.

Speeding up slightly, Wally made the next dozen steps before he was accosted by a police officer. The man was chubby and red-cheeked and angry.

"Are you Wallace West?" He practically spat at Wally.

He froze up for a moment, during which several more people approached him. He swallowed thickly, headache raging, and said: "Yes, sir."

The cop made to motion over other officers but another group reached him first.

The first was Superman, looking as dark and as intimidating as his bright-colored costume would allow while Wonder Woman and Batman stood by Wally's side. Green Lantern hovered behind Wally and he felt trapped between all these super powered beings.

Wally struggled to keep his heart under control but only succeeded in increasing it. Superman lessened his intimidation for a moment, looking concerned for Wally, before his face regained its hardness.

"You're coming with us, Mr. West," Batman growled darkly. Wally thought he knew fear before this, but what he'd experienced at the hands of his father was nothing compared to what he realized the League could do. Wally found himself wishing for Uncle Barry's guidance; Uncle Barry would know how to handle these guys.

Wally licked his dry lips and breathed shakily; he really didn't feel good. His vision was still doing that weird black-edges thing and it was seriously starting to freak him out. "Can I ask where we're going?"

Wally wanted to hit himself. He sounded like some scared little kid and Wally was already tired of it. He wanted to try again but Wonder Woman spoke before he could.

"Don't worry; you'll be back on Earth in no time, Mr. West."

 _You'll be back on Earth in no time? Am I going into space? Where the Justice League HQ is stationed? Ohmygod, this is the coolest!_

Wally didn't dedicate much thought as to why he would at JL HQ, but he needn't worry as the others were doing plenty of that for him.

...

Clark couldn't help but pity the kid.

Sandwiched between Diana and Green Lantern, the kid's body stood out plainly. Too thin, too pale, and too loud. _Way_ too loud. His heart thundered in his chest and his breaths rasped out of him painfully. His stomach growled and occasionally he whimpered, softly enough that only someone with super hearing could hear.

A glance towards Diana confirmed this. She heard the grumblings and whimpers but, unlike Clark, didn't care.

Another whimper, unnoticed and likely not one the kid wanted anyone to hear. He blushed when GL looked down on him and sneered.

Diana still did nothing.

Batman was flying the jet and Clark didn't know why he agreed to this. To sit inside the jet and watch a murderer fumble with the JL's attention.

Clark didn't want to feel anything for Flash's killer but Clark was beginning to think that maybe this kid didn't do it. Maybe he just forgets his things at museums while visiting.

It was just… hard. To picture this skinny kid taking down the Flash when he could barely walk without tripping over air. It was even harder to picture this kid in advanced analytical chemistry classes as the top student. Though maybe that wasn't such a stretch.

The kid, Wallace West, was 17 years old and a scholarship student at Central City's local college. He was the only child to Mary and Rudolph West and was later adopted by his aunt, Iris West-Allen, at 12 after a horrible accident at the Flash museum. The details were unclear and Batman was still trying to figure out exactly what went down that night but they had more pressing issues to deal with than the kids tragic backstory.

Clark refrained from looking at the kid—Wally—again and instead closed his eyes and thought of Flash and all of his stupid jokes.

...

Wally was struggling to keep all of the weird noises his body wanted to make under control but it was hard to do that when he could feel Superman burning a hole into his forehead.

Wally kept his head down and tried to calm down. His headache was gone now but his ears were ringing like hell. Like when Dani kept calling, calling, calling until he finally picked up to hear her shitty news about the Flash, their hero, and then he had to walk 2 miles with a raging headache and _when would his ears stop with the ringing?!_

Unbidden, he whimpered and Green Lantern glared at him. His heart stuttered at the look and he could feel his face burn from the humiliation of it all. Why was he being treated like this? Like some sort of criminal? Wally hadn't done anything wrong, he couldn't even remember the past week, so why was he even here, surrounded by angry superheroes who looked like they wanted to bash his head in?

Then he thought about it.

The Flash was dead. The Justice League took over the case. They went to the crime scene and probably found evidence of murder. Then they… came looking for Wally.

 _But that doesn't make any sense! I didn't kill the Flash! I was at the park all night and, and…_

His protesting halted.

 _Yeah, I woke up at the park but who knows when I showed up there? I don't remember anything from last night so, is it possible…?_

Wally shuddered and accidentally bumped Wonder Woman. He tensed up, waiting for a heavy blow or even a silent one form the Amazon warrior, but nothing happened. Looking up, Wally saw that Wonder Woman stayed still despite his bump and looked as though she hadn't moved since boarding the jet. He gave a sideways glance to Green Lantern and found his sneering face looking down on him. Wally blushed again and wanted to apologize but figured that would make things worse.

 _Everything's OK,_ Wally thought to himself.

 _Everything's gonna be OK._

...

AND SCENE!

Yep Wally's been taken in by the justice league and none of them are happy

Except for clark but really this dude feels for everyone OK he's got a bleeding heart and everyone knows it


	4. sickness

Things had gone from bad to shitty faster than Wally could even blink.

They made it back to JL HQ, _in space,_ and took Wally to a holding cell. The inside of the cell was completely white and devoid of anything other than an unmovable chair and table. No food. No water, either, which Wally thought was particularly unfair considering he kinda needed it to live.

Batman had said that he'd be back in a few minutes and that Wally should get comfortable. _Not likely,_ he thought to himself, taking the only seat provided to him.

There was an unpleasant weighty-ness in his stomach that he couldn't shake. That gnawing hunger that had reared its ugly head on the ride over had only worsened and Wally could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness. The only thing preventing the inevitable was the thought of what the heroes would do to him in his sleep.

Wally wasn't crazy enough to think that they'd kill him over the Flash's death. But he was cautious and he knew that if he fell asleep before Batman got back that he might just wake up in jail on Earth, guilty of a crime he didn't know for sure that he committed. His stomach twisted up into knots at the thought.

 _OK, that's a little far-fetched. I think the hunger's starting to get to me; I feel like I'm losing my mind over here!_

Just as Wally felt bile lurch up his throat, Batman and Wonder Woman walked in. The two leaguers were then able to witness _their_ witness throw up a mixture of yellowish-red bile and blood. Wally whined helplessly and continued to mime vomiting despite there being nothing left but bile and blood to throw up.

Batman raced over to Wally, who lay curled up on the floor, his body desperately trying to rid itself of sickness the only way it knew how. His hands clutched at his stomach tightly, trying to stave off the upheaval of his stomach.

Wonder Woman left the cell, returning moments later with a confused costumed man. She thrust the man forward and he crashed to his knees next to Wally. Confusion fading fast, the man sent Wonder Woman ahead to prep the sick bay.

"Batman," the man started, then stopped; he didn't know how to phrase his question.

Batman knew what that tone meant. Incredulous and borderline angry, Dr. Midnite wanted to know how the boy had gotten so sick and why he hadn't been notified upon their arrival.

Dr. Midnite gently pushed Wally into a sitting position and motioned for Batman to carry him.

Wally was shaking and breathing raggedly, though he'd stopped dry heaving in exchange for hoarse, wet coughing. Batman lifted the sick teen into his arms and was vividly reminded of the times when he would carry his children to bed or out of the cave. Looking down at Wally's pinched, pale face, Batman felt his heart stutter and stop at the expression.

Wally was in pain.

A kid, not even 18, was suffering because the League thought he had something to do with Flash's death. The scrawny red-head probably weighed less than Batman's left leg. His bag had been at the museum, true, but so had other people's belongings. Shame curled in his gut; the League had acted out of grief, like the Justice Lords had, and were already abusing their power over civilians.

They reached the sick bay in record time and Dr. Midnite transferred Wally over to a bed with an assortment of devices nearby. Wonder Woman guided him out of the room and directed him towards the center of the Tower.

She rested her hand on his shoulder.

"We need to tell the others." She whispered, but her voice still carried in the hall.

Could she hear his heart speed up at the mention of a fresh wound? One shared by the most senior members of the League, and soon, the newest? It had to happen eventually, but now? They didn't have any news to share, just the death of a beloved member of the team.

Batman could see the entire thing going down. He worried, and knew the others worried, too. It was too much, all at once, and Batman needed to distance himself from this and focus on the problem at hand.

Wally West was there the night the museum exploded. He knew who the Flash had been fighting. And somehow, someway, he'd gotten out before the _Fastest-Man-Alive_ could. It wasn't much to go off. He hoped it would be enough to keep the rest of the League at bay.

"Let's go, then," He said and began walking.

...

Deep within the ocean, another conversation was taking place, one between two brothers.

"You have a responsibility to Atlantis above all else, Arthur!"

Arthur Curry, known as the hero Aquaman, but also the King of Atlantis, had tried to explain to Orm that he was needed by the League and it hadn't gone well. They were arguing on Arthur's way to the zeta tube above land about Arthur's apparent betrayal to the kingdom.

"Orm, really, I'll be gone for a day or two, max. _Relax._ " Arthur said easily. His brother did not heed his advice; if anything, telling him to relax had made him even tenser than before. _Orm is such a tightass._

"You're the KING, Arthur. You can't just run off and leave ME in charge of everything," Orm was getting worked up now and Mera would hate the both of them if Arthur sent back a stressed-out Orm while he was gone.

"OK, one: you're not in charge; Mera is. Two: I'm not 'running off' because I'm going to space, bro; I can't run out there. And three," he said, seeing Orm open his mouth.

"I'm coming back after whatever they need me for."

Orm drifted back and forth anxiously, before spitting out _"fine"_ and swimming back to Atlantis. Arthur chuckled to himself and knew that Orm had heard him when a giant squid barreled over him in its haste to catch up with Orm.

Arthur made his way to the surface without any further delays and stepped into the zeta that wold take him to the Tower.

 _I hope I'm not too late for whatever's going on._

...

Charles examined the teen, Wally, laid out on the bed in front of him. He had to replace his clothing with sturdy white pajamas when he had started coughing up blood.

Wally's files were inconsistent with what Charles was seeing and testing from his body. His medical history showed only one major event wherein he was hospitalized, however, the details on that were unclear.

Medically speaking, what Wally was experiencing shouldn't be possible. He was in the late stages of starvation and had contracted what appeared to be bronchitis.

Charles had been forced to put the teen on a respirator as he had trouble breathing around the blood in his throat and the mucus in his nose. The IV contained a plethora of nutrients that Batman used for himself and his sidekicks, and Charles had given it to Wally in the hopes of it helping him heal.

There was a sudden strangled noise from Wally and Charles leaned closer to him while adjusting his oxygen intake. Wally struggled to open his eyes and had trouble swallowing.

"It's all right, Wally; take your time." Charles spoke soothingly to the distressed teen and kept up the chatter for a minutes before Wally fell back asleep. The sudden stop didn't surprise Charles as Wally was clearly exhausted and couldn't be able to keep up the pace he had set for himself.

He sighed tiredly. Batman would want to know what was wrong with Wally and that was going to take some time. _This is gonna take a while to explain. Lantern'll probably be there; Superman, too; Wonder Woman, definitely. Flash might show up if he's bothered enough._

Charles felt a quick dart of annoyance go through him. The Flash was the most childish adult Charles had ever met and he didn't mean it as a compliment. _He supposedly helped with the League's founding, but with the way he acts? There's no way._

Charles continued to think about the Flash and began reviewing Wally's files more extensively as Wally lay sleeping.

...

The last POV is Charles McNider AKA Dr. Midnite and he doesn't like the Flash at all

And yeah Aquaman's on his way to the tower, bout to get the sad news about Flash

And unfortunately barry/iris aren't around anymore hence wally taking over as the flash and living on his own and being on scholarship

So leave a review on your way out, tell me what you think/ what could be better/ what do you want to see more of/ or just guesses on where you think the story's headed


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